What's in Your Cart?

​Hello! Welcome to the second instalment of What's in Your Cart!! This time, I'll be taking a look at Return to Return to Ravnica (or whatever silly name they’re calling it). Together, we’ll run down what has found its way into my collection as well as some of the stuff CCONation has told me you are looking forward to!

​Let's start with some listener suggestions:Niv-Mizzet, Parun - Good ol' Niv. Back again with that same old "draw a card, hurt a person" ability and this time he is pushing the WotC "Izzet plays spells and storm" agenda super hard. I have been told he is going to be on-point for mono-spells.dec. Interesting idea, and I'm excited to see where it goes.Vraska, Golgari Queen - A new card for a Mazirek deck. Sees like a thing someone would do. She would go good in any thing that runs lots or creatures to protect her while you build to that super fair, super interactive emblem. Full disclosure, I opened one of these in a pack I bought and I immediately put her in Lord Windgrace to see how that works out. I see her being cut eventually. While she is very powerful, I'm not sure she is all that and a bag of chips. Five out of ten, at best.Divine Visitation - I have a couple things to say here:1 - I'm glad someone suggested this as I typically overlook white cards. I don’t really play white that often.2 - Obviously this card is going in a token strategy, as it should. It's super badass to drop and Avenger of Z and get 14 4/4 fliers, or tap a Myr Turbine for a 4/4...or drop a Gang-Bang Commander to really get the party going (don't Google that). The point is, this card is very cool and I think everyone should pick them up while they are still being opened. It's a great EDH card.Assassin's Trophy - Oh my god. Yeah, this card is good. I got not less than 5 people saying it was the top of their shopping list. One human even said it was THE ONLY CARD FROM THE SET HE WANTED. It's awesome and everything...but I am going to pass on it until the price goes down. I'll just deal with removing stuff at a discount until then.

And finally, we have Doom Whisperer - a couple of people suggested this as well. Ryan and I have talked about him on the podcast. Probably the most powerful single card in the set, especially in anything that likes to dump cards into the bin. If that isn't your thing, it's still a flying 6/6 f*cking beater for 5 that let's you play around planechasing to Skybreen. Totally something we all worry about…

​As for your man Brando, I picked up a small selection of cards that are totally dope...

Etrata, the Silencer - Vanity pick. I actually think this card is shitty, but it looks really nice in foil so...yeah.

Thousand-Year Storm - Yeah. I know. Dirtbag Bag city. I got this one because I am desperate to make my Arjun, The Shifting Flame deck better and I think this might be the card to make that happen. Plus, it is a super cool card that has the possibility to be played for fun, as opposed to played for the purposes of being a huge piece of shit.

Thief of Sanity - I love me a good spectre, and this is a good spectre! I also like being able to play my opponent's stuff! Why buy Assassin's Trophies of my own when I can just play yours?!

Lockets - Worth a mention, I think. They are just cool rocks and being able to turn them into TWO cards when you're done with them is pretty good. (editor’s note: These might end up being better than people think. Just sayin’.)

Wand of Vertebrae - I don't totally know why I made a point to get these. But something inside my brain made me snap up a couple. Maybe it is the ability to load up the yard? Maybe it is the ability to save my stuff from graveyard hate? Maybe it's the fact that it is a goddamn wand made from a human spine, and there is NOTHING more metal than that.

Underrealm Lich - This was the foil in my pre-release kit! Super cool as it was the number one thing I wanted in foil! I think it will be a great include in my Windgrace list. If it turns out I'm wrong maybe one day I'll build that dirty ass Gitrog deck. If not THAT, then at least I'll have a sweet looking foil in my binder.

​I'm going to call those the highlights. There are obvious picks, like Goblin Cratermaker, Legion Warboss and Generous Stray (yeah, I said it) but those cards are obvious. There is no real need to go into them in any sort of detail. Also, on this little shopping trip I picked up a couple other sweet things that you might want to take a look at for your own decks...

Desolation - Oh baby, look at that art. Real talk: I grabbed this one up based only on the picture, then I read it and realised it could be a sweet control card and it owns white...win-win. This card's existence was later validated on Twitter as part of a dirty land-killer strategy.

​Putrid Warrior - Just a cool thing I happened across. I like things that do work just for doing damage. This guy fits the bill! I eventually plan to build a WB zombie deck because I am so original and I'm sure I will find room for this. If for no better reason than to make my friends pick it up off the table and read it.

​Earthlink - I picked this one up on a whim, saw it and though the art was cool. It has a dirty effect that I don't really feel is part of my regular game plan. Maybe someone who likes a grindy Jund list with nothing but cool looking cards in it will find a good spot for it.

​There we have it. A quick look at some of the stuff people are pumped about from the new set!! If you ever have a sweet find to share, drop my a line on Twitter @CCOBrando or get at us via e-mail. Until next time, keep sifting through those boxes CCONation!!